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Zynga Extends its Multi-Year Deal With World Poker Tour

Zynga Extends its Multi-Year Deal With World Poker Tour

Zynga (ZNGA) moves ahead with its multi-year partnership deal with World Poker Tour, its biggest in-game partnership deal to date.

Zynga ZNGA has taken forward its multi-year partnership with World Poker Tour (WPT), a noted international poker tournament series. The deal was locked in February this year.

The deal incorporates the WPT experience into Zynga Poker, one of the popular free-to-play poker games. Users can now compete in a virtual world that hosts the tournament style play.

Players will be part of a professional setup that allows them to play with higher stakes. This implies that players have the chance to win more virtual currencies. They are also given two choices of play setup: traditional nine person table or the new format of the five person table.

Going forward, the game will include new features and competitive modes to enhance player experience.

Notably, this is the biggest in-game partnership deal Zynga has made to date. The company’s effort to lock in deals to expand its presence in the market is a positive.

Zynga Inc. Revenue (TTM)

Zynga Inc. Revenue (TTM) | Zynga Inc. Quote

Partnerships to Boost Revenues

Apart from partnering with WPT, Zynga also recently entered into a multi-year partnership with Disney DIS to develop video games based on the Star Wars franchise.

Notably, the game will be developed under Zynga’s NaturalMotion studio in which the company invested around $527 million in 2014. The studio, apart from creating the second part of the Star Wars game, will also operate the first part of the game, Star Wars: Commander that Disney launched in 2014.

At a time when the video gaming market is intensely competitive with players like Activision ATVI, Electronic Arts EA, Take Two and Epic Games, Zynga’s partnerships with big names like Disney and WPT bode well.

Zynga expects the deal with Disney to expand its user base and presence in the gaming market on the back of popular Star Wars franchise.

Moreover, Zynga Poker’s mobile revenues and mobile bookings, which increased 19% and 13%, respectively year over year in the last reported quarter on the back of new updates in the game, are expected to increase further with WPT partnership.

Intensifying Competition

Zynga’s competitors are boosting their respective portfolios with big releases that will drive user engagement and user levels.

Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, one of the most awaited games is set to release on Oct 12. Moreover, the company’s partnership with Twitter to air Overwatch League, one of the most popular leagues is a concern.

Additionally, EA’s Battlefield V and Take Two Interactive’s Red Dead Redemption 2, which are set to release on Nov 20 and Oct 26, respectively will also pose significant threat to Zynga.

Nevertheless, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company is expected to slowly grab a share of the market by boosting its partnership deals and attracting users with unique game features and free to play games.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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